Wednesday, April 22, 2015
But when the late-session proposal came up for a vote Wednesday afternoon, his colleagues made quick work of it.
After less than an hour of discussion, the Senate voted 18 to 11 to scrap a provision that currently allows parents to opt their children out of mandatory vaccinations for purely philosophical reasons. If signed into law, the amendment would still allow children to attend public schools if they qualified for a medical or religious exemption.
Whether the House follows suit in the final weeks of the session remains unclear. Speaker Shap Smith (D-Morristown) and Rep. Bill Lippert (D-Hinesburg), who chairs the House Committee on Health Care, said Wednesday they have yet to decide how to proceed.
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The close vote, coming late in the legislative session, is an indication of the bill’s uncertain future. A wary Senate would have to waive its rules to advance the bill.
“We would love to pass it this year. Do I think that’s a stretch? Yes, it is,” said Lindsay DesLauriers, state director of the Main Street Alliance, who lobbied for the bill. “That would be an incredible turn of events.”
Supporters seized the opportunity Wednesday to sell the idea that everybody’s better off if people don’t go to work sick.
Tags: Vermont legislature , paid sick leave , labor , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Asked at a Statehouse press conference what he would do if Vermont Health Connect still can't automatically process changes in users' account information by his self-established deadline of May 31, Shumlin responded, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Pressed for a more specific answer, he said, “I’m going to find a high building.”
Tags: Peter Shumlin , suicide , mental health , Image , Web Only
Monday, April 20, 2015
So has the Vermont Agency of Transportation. A two-year, $11 million construction project has thrown such a wrench in the traffic pattern that the agency — for the first time ever — has a tow truck standing by during rush hour. Just in case.
“It’s a challenge,” said Kevin Marshia, deputy chief engineer for the agency. "It's a pretty unique project."
The configuration can look like an accident waiting to happen. One did occur early Friday afternoon. A northbound driver who was fiddling with his oxygen tank and driving faster than the speed limit flipped his car into the median, according to state police. Nobody was hurt. State police said the driver is likely to be ticketed.
Tags: Vermont Agency of Transportation , Interstate 89 , Waterbury , roadwork , Image , Web Only
It's creepy to discover someone has hacked into your annual interactions with the IRS. “I'm sort of in disbelief," said Kleinman, director of the 4H youth development program at UVM. "I feel like it's an invasion of privacy but more so I'm just frustrated because you don’t know what else is out there.”
Tax refund fraud is a national problem. Hackers steal Social Security numbers and file returns hoping to scoop up refund money that doesn't belong to them. Ironically, Kleinman and her husband, who are filing jointly, aren't expecting money back this year. They filed an extension last week and expect to owe money to the IRS. The odds that the person who hacked into the Kleinman's tax filing has paid their bill to Uncle Sam? “Somehow I doubt that,” Kleinman said.
It's unclear why numerous faculty and staff at Vermont's state university have been hit by tax scams, which UVM police reported on the campus police Facebook page April 15.
Tags: University of Vermont , tax refund fraud , Burlington , Image , Web Only
A New York Times story published Monday reports, “Allegiant pilots said they had identified at least 65 incidents from September to March where flights were forced to divert to another airport, return to the gate, or abort their takeoff because of a mechanical or an engine problem.”
Since February 2014, Allegiant Air has flown twice a week from Burlington International Airport to Orlando, using an MD-80 aircraft that seats 166 passengers. The airline, which has the second-highest profit margin in the industry, keeps costs to a minimum by purchasing older planes and subcontracting maintenance work.
The allegations, the Times notes, come amid growing tension between unionized pilots and the airline’s owner: “It is not unusual for pilots to bring up safety and maintenance issues in the middle of labor talks," the story says. "To the airline, the complaints represent scare tactics by the pilots union, driven by demands over benefits and work rules.” The two sides are embroiled in a labor dispute playing out in federal court.
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In a letter and accompanying complaint, Charlotte attorney Brady Toensing alleged four counts of misconduct related to the nine-term Democrat's campaign fundraising and spending. The allegations range from failure to properly report campaign expenditures to improper solicitation and receipt of donations in exchange for official action.
In the letter, Toensing accused Sorrell of "long-term and chronic flouting of Vermont's campaign finance laws." Because the AG serves as the state's chief law-enforcement officer, he wrote, Sorrell has "been able to act with impunity," despite engaging in conduct that "constitutes clear violations of Vermont law."
He concluded: "Appointment of an independent counsel is necessary to restore and maintain the integrity of your office."
Sorrell, who could not immediately be reached for comment Monday morning, has previously denied wrongdoing related to the allegations, most of which stem from recent reporting by Seven Days.
Tags: Bill Sorrell , Brady Toensing , campaign finance , Image , Web Only
Thursday, April 16, 2015
“We’re keeping guns out of the hands of violent criminals and out of the hands of the dangerously mentally ill,” said Rep. Willem Jewett (D-Ripton), vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee.
The vote represents a historic move for Vermont lawmakers who have long been loathe to consider any legislation that restricts gun ownership in the hunter-friendly state.
The bill, S.141, would make it a misdemeanor under state law for those convicted of certain violent felonies to possess a gun. That’s already illegal under federal law, but state prosecutors have been unable to file the charge. The bill also requires state courts to report to a federal database the names of mentally ill people deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.
Tags: gun control , Gun Sense Vermont , Ann Braden , Vermont legislature , Image , Web Only
Eighteen months after its launch, Vermont Health Connect continues to suffer from serious technological, operational and security problems, according to a new report released Thursday by state Auditor Doug Hoffer.
In a long-awaited look at the federally mandated health insurance exchange, Hoffer sounded a pessimistic note about the state's progress complying with recommendations made by its own consultants.
"While the State has taken steps to correct problems, gaps in VHC’s functionality have been patched by manual and time-consuming processes that have caused hardship for Vermonters," he wrote in an introductory letter.
Much hinges upon whether Gov. Peter Shumlin's administration can meet two fast-approaching, self-imposed deadlines, Hoffer wrote. Last month, the governor promised the system would be able to automatically process changes to account information by May and smoothly reenroll users by October. If the administration fails to meet either target, Shumlin said at the time, he would replace the state-based system with the federal exchange or a state-federal hybrid.
"Although the State has developed a high-level plan to correct IT shortcomings in 2015, significant obstacles and challenges remain to the successful implementation of the plan," Hoffer wrote. "The schedule for the [May] release is aggressive and the State does not yet have a defined scope of work or a contract with Optum, its current vendor, for a second major release in the fall."
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Blasphemous, right? Especially here and now, as Vermont breweries have craft-beer fans from around the world drooling at their doors.
That's the point, said Pearson, a Burlington Progressive. "This is not something either of us support. It would be ridiculous," he said. It's just as ridiculous, he argued, to prohibit the sale and use of marijuana, a substance he argues is safer by many measures.
Tags: Cannabeat , Chris Pearson , Jean O'Sullivan , marijuana legalization , Vermont legislature , Image , Web Only